Denver neighborhood fights back against racist letter
Copies of an anonymous and hateful letter left in the Whittier neighborhood of Denver ended up having the opposite effect than their author likely intended.
Instead of dividing the neighborhood and frightening residents, the letter served to bring the community together and rally behind "Miss Monica," an 81-year-old African-American woman who was the target of the letter. It read, "the n----- at [her address] needs to hg [sic] to the ghetto theres [sic] no room for n------ or jews in this area," according to CBS-Denver.
The woman was unaware that she'd received the letter until police came to her door and told her about it.
Via ABC-7:
"Police came up and rang the doorbell. He asked me if I had been having any problems with the neighbors, I told him 'no.' He asked me if my kids have been having problems at school, I told him 'no.' He said, 'Well, has anybody bothered you?' I said 'no.' He said, 'Well I don't really want to show you this. I have a letter in my car that's been distributed among the neighborhood.' He took me out to his car and he was teary eyed, and I looked at it and I just broke down."
Copies of the letter were distributed throughout the neighborhood, and they reportedly all referenced "Miss Monica," who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, CBS-Denver reports. Her friends and neighbors quickly came to her defense, organizing a rally and distributing letters of their own that advocated for community and diversity over hate.
“I can’t believe anybody in this day and age would do something like that, and why?” the woman told CBS-Denver.
Denver police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, ABC-7 reports. One theory floated by neighbors according to CBS-Denver is that the letter was written by someone who wants to use scare tactics to get the woman to sell her home.
People with information about the incident are encouraged to contact Denver police.
Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).
